Visitors can step back 150 million years as Museum & Art Swindon unveils its new exhibition, Fossil Hunters – Unlocking Swindon’s Jurassic Past.
Opening tomorrow (4 October), the exhibition highlights the town’s extraordinary fossil heritage, showcasing ancient marine creatures, ammonites, and the museum’s newest star acquisition – the Swindon Stegosaur vertebra. Specimens from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History will also feature.
From the remains of pliosaurs and ichthyosaurs to ammonites recently unearthed during the Morden Sporting Hub development, the collection shines a spotlight on creatures that swam in the seas covering Swindon during the Jurassic age.
The story of fossil hunting in the town stretches back centuries. In the 1600s, antiquarian John Aubrey discovered the rich secrets hidden in Swindon’s limestone quarries. Later, pioneering geologist William Smith—the “father of English geology”—found marine reptile fossils while working on the Wilts & Berks Canal. His work inspired future fossil hunters such as Gideon Mantell, William Morris and William Jocelyn Arkell.
Exhibition curator Elaine Arthurs said:
“It was so exciting bringing this exhibition together. Swindon’s rich geological history is exemplary, and the fossils found here tell the story of life under the sea millions of years ago.”
Councillor Marina Strinkovsky, Cabinet Member for Placemaking and Planning, added:
“Swindon’s history isn’t just trains – although that’s vital to our identity – but also the story of life before humans even existed. Some fossils were discovered just yards from where Museum & Art Swindon stands today. This exhibition is perfect for dino enthusiasts and anyone curious about our town’s prehistoric past.”
The exhibition is part of the Unlocking Collection project, funded by Arts Council England. Volunteers have spent months researching the fossil collection, carefully selecting specimens that best illustrate Swindon’s ancient past.
